Billable Hours Calculator — Freelancer & Consultant Income
Enter your hourly rate, working hours per day, days per week and billable efficiency to calculate weekly, monthly and annual income — and see exactly how billable and non-billable time are split.
$/hr
hrs/day
days/week
%
Billable hours × hourly rate across 52.18 weeks
30h
Billable/wkBillable hours
75%
Non-billable hours
25%
- 1
Total hours per week
8 × 5 = 40 - 2
Billable hours per week
40 × 75 % ÷ 100 = 30Working hours multiplied by the billable efficiency rate. - 3
Billable hours per year
30 × 52.18 = 1,565.3 - 4
Annual income
1,565.3 × $100 = 156,532.50
How does this calculator work?
Annual income = hours/day × days/week × efficiency% × 52.18 weeks × hourly rate. At $100/hr, 8 h/day, 5 days/week, 75% efficiency: 1,565 billable hours/year = $156,540. Adjust efficiency to account for admin, sales and non-client time that cannot be billed.
Formula
How this is calculated
Billable hours are the hours a freelancer or consultant can actually charge to a client. Not all working hours translate into billable work: time spent on business development, invoicing, internal meetings, training and professional development is necessary but unbilled. Billable efficiency (or utilisation rate) captures this — a rate of 75% means three-quarters of working time is billable and the rest is overhead.
The weekly billable hours equal your total working hours (hours per day × days per week) multiplied by the efficiency rate. Monthly hours use 52.1775 ÷ 12 = 4.348 weeks per month (the exact average including leap years), so the annual and monthly figures remain consistent rather than rounding to 4 weeks. Annual income is the yearly billable hours times the hourly rate.
Billable efficiency norms vary by profession: solo freelancers commonly achieve 60–80%; agency consultants 70–90% when fully engaged; lawyers and accountants in private practice often target 1600–2000 billable hours per year (about 60–75% of a 2080-hour year). Keep in mind the calculation gives gross income before taxes, platform fees, benefits and other business expenses.
Frequently asked questions
For independent freelancers, 60–75% is typical and realistic: it leaves time for business development, admin and unpaid downtime. Consultants at agencies might target 70–85%. Very high rates (>90%) are unsustainable long-term because they leave no time for business growth or professional development.
A standard 40-hour week for 52 weeks is 2,080 hours total. At 75% efficiency, that gives about 1,560 billable hours per year. Many law firms target 1,800–2,000 billable hours; management consultants often target 1,500–1,800 depending on firm and role.
No — the result is gross revenue from billable work only. To estimate take-home pay, deduct income taxes (typically 20–40%), self-employment taxes, professional insurance, software subscriptions, workspace costs and any platform or agency fees.
Also known as
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. (2026). Billable Hours Calculator — Freelancer & Consultant Income [Online calculator]. TG we-Calculate. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/billable-hours-calculator
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team. "Billable Hours Calculator — Freelancer & Consultant Income." TG we-Calculate. 2026. https://we-calculate.com/calculator/billable-hours-calculator.
TG we-Calculate Editorial Team, "Billable Hours Calculator — Freelancer & Consultant Income," TG we-Calculate, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://we-calculate.com/calculator/billable-hours-calculator
@misc{wecalculate_billable_hours_calculator, title = {Billable Hours Calculator — Freelancer & Consultant Income}, author = {{TG we-Calculate Editorial Team}}, howpublished = {\url{https://we-calculate.com/calculator/billable-hours-calculator}}, year = {2026}, note = {TG we-Calculate} }
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